Pelindo III all set to develop cruise

PT Pelabuhan Indonesia, a state-owned port operator, (Pelindo III) that deals with port facilities in eastern and central parts of Indonesia, programs to build a whole new terminal at the Labuan Bajo port in the East Nusa Tenggara just dedicated for cruise ships and yachts next year.

Djarwo Surjanto, Pelindo III president director, said that tourism potential in the East Nusa Tenggara and West Nusa Tenggara is growing and they want to support the development of the area. They want to prepare facilities for an expected increase in traffic in cruise ships and yachts, particularly in Labuan Bajo
Djarwo added that the company anticipated to finish the whole engineering design as well as land acquisition earlier this year and started the structure of the terminal in early 2016. They need to acquire at least fifty hectares of land to construct the terminal. The construction would take around 2 years to complete. However, he was reluctant to reveal the total investment required to make the terminal.

As per, Djarwo, the capital expenditure of the company this year hit Rp 4 trillion (i.e. $308.3 million) that would also be utilized to finance the preparation of the construction of the new terminal. He added that the company was also looking for scopes to develop yacht and cruise terminals in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara’s capital city.

In the year 2014, the company recorded an 11.5% increase in cruise ship calls to hundred and twenty six at the fifteen ports it deals with throughout the country, with stops made at Lembar Port in Lombok, Benoa Port in Bali and Tanjung Emas in Central Java.